In today’s complex business landscape, organizations face new challenges as they navigate aligning the workforce with ever-evolving business objectives. From understanding personnel changes to scalability in the workforce, Joyce Hill, an adjunct professor at Avila University, shares her extensive experience and knowledge related to strategic workforce planning.
The Need for Strategic Skills in Workforce Planning
Does your organization have the right number of employees? Do these employees have the right skills to do the work? Are these employees contributing to the achievement of the organization’s strategic plan? If you’re unable to answer these questions, then learning about workforce planning and employment just might be a good place to find the answers.
What Is Workforce Planning? Beyond Head Count and Experience
There are many misconceptions about workforce planning. It’s not just about having the correct number of employees to do the work or making sure the employees have the experience to do the job. It’s a well-balanced combination of actions that are aligned with the organization’s strategic plan.
Employers without workforce planning often experience a mismatch between the skills they currently need and those they seek in the future. Furthermore, another element is the job seeker may not actually possess the skills that are needed by the organization. So, how can this be overcome?
The AI Revolution: Adapting Your Workforce for Emerging Technologies
Suppose the organization has decided to embark on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to strengthen its competitiveness. The employees that will be needed to contribute to AI require a combination of hard skills (technical) and soft skills.
Typically, technical skills are those that can be learned through education, such as data analysis, applying mathematics and statistical research. On the other hand, soft skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, or communicating are skills that have an educational component but also require more development to hone these skills through application, feedback, and coaching.
Forecasting Talent Needs: Short-Term vs. Long-Term Strategies
So, ask yourself, if AI is a part of the organization’s strategic objectives, what does the organization need to achieve within three years? Five years? Workforce planning provides the tools needed to forecast these needs as well as identify how the organization can fulfill them. Can they be developed in-house? If so, how long will it take? If it takes too long, then the organization will need to look externally to hire individuals who currently possess these skills. Then, research will need to be conducted to determine if these individuals make up your sourcing market.
It’s also important to assess the current workforce models against the models of the future. The immense changes the workforce model experienced during the pandemic is proof that just because the current model is working today doesn’t mean it will suffice in the future.
The Continuous Cycle of Effective Workforce Planning
Workforce planning is not a one-and-done activity but rather a continuation of activity. As stated earlier, it requires a current analysis of the talent needed to achieve today’s goals but also has to be flexible enough to achieve its future goals. Workforce planning ensures the strategic plan of the organization can be achieved by the variety of employees it seeks. Case in point, does the organization only have full-time employees or can part-time contractors or seasonal employees meet these needs?
Another benefit of workforce planning is how it helps to reduce voluntary turnover and creates a more effective leadership pipeline. More importantly, it helps to translate the actions of workforce planning into monetary language. Leaders are highly motivated and interested when action can be converted to its return on investment (ROI). With that being said, workforce planning may not produce direct results in revenue returns but will produce results in savings which positively impacts the bottom line.
This is apparent when we consider the cost of turnover, which can be 1.5 to 2 times an employee’s annual salary. Decreasing turnover can save thousands for the organization as well as maintain high morale among its employees. It also contributes to the reduction of negative impacts such as lost productivity, missed deadlines, or re-work because of errors.
Navigating Employment Laws in Workforce Planning: A Compliance Imperative
Lastly, we must also be aware of employment laws when making any decisions that impact the workforce to ensure compliance with these laws. Specifically, compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act are some you will want to become familiar with. This is not to say that you’ll become an expert in employment law, but workforce planning provides oversight into these and many other laws that you need to consider when making any employment decisions.
Empowering Leaders and Teams Through Strategic Workforce Assessment
Whether you lead a team of employees or are an important team member, having the ability to assess the skills you currently have and forecast the skills you will need in the future is critical to successfully equipping the organization with the right people at the right time with the right skills.
Advance Your Skillset With an MBA in Strategic Human Resources
For human resource professionals looking to gain expertise in essential business skills, the online MBA in Strategic Human Resources from Avila University features advanced coursework in areas related to standards, workforce development, personnel management, and organizational risk.
To learn more, explore business administration degree options at Avila today.
